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omg its already happening :( sad....forgotten baby

SUGAR LAND, TX (KTRK) -- It's a tragic accident every parent can learn from. Sugar Land police are investigating the death of a 7-month-old baby who was left in a truck all day Thursday by the father.

The truck in which that baby died has been moved inside the Sugar Land Police Department garage as the investigation continues. But it appears to be another hot weather tragedy, in which heat combined with the distractions of life can have terrible consequences.

It is a home that will never again be the same; where such a loss has happened that neighbors will not speak of it publicly out of respect for the family that lost a 7-month-old baby boy. His body was found in the backseat of his father's truck, accidentally left behind in a chain of events that started Thursday morning.

"The father dropped off two children at school and went to a conference in northwest Houston and had basically forgotten that he had a 7-month-old in the back seat," said Sugar Land Police Captain Stuart Denton.

The father arrived at this Houston hotel for the conference just after 8am Thursday. According to police, he drove home in his truck nearly seven hours later and walked into the house. Around 5pm came the phone call.

"He was conversing with his mother about where the children were and that's when he realized," said Capt. Denton.

The child was already gone; there was no reviving him. Police describe the parents as devastated.

But consider that last year, Texas led the nation in the number of children who died inside hot cars. This, too, was the case of a parent whose routine didn't include taking a child to day care.

No one knows better how that can happen than Donna Hicks, whose grandson Christian died a few years ago inside her car. She also went to work, forgetting he was in the backseat until it was too late.

"I remember watching TV when someone else had done that and saying how could a parent forget their own child in a car?" Hicks said. "You never know until it really happens to you or someone you know."

Children's Protective Services says it will be speaking with the family of the Sugar Land case to assess their situation, the safety of the other two children and perhaps provide counseling.

Tonight on Eyewitness News at 10pm, we ask that question of a woman whose grandson died in her car while she was at work. We also offer advice on how to avoid this tragedy.

The government says an average of 38 children die every year from being left alone in a car. In half of the cases, the child was simply forgotten.

what I want to know is why are more kids forgotten in the summer than any other time of the year? You NEVER hear about kids being forgotten in the middle of winter ya know? Just a silly question I suppose.

I would think it is because school is out and the normal routine is shaken up. It really isn't an excuse. I live in Arizona and I was paranoid about checking the carseats.

Quoting Bird16_J:

what I want to know is why are more kids forgotten in the summer than any other time of the year? You NEVER hear about kids being forgotten in the middle of winter ya know? Just a silly question I suppose.

I understand that to an extent but majority of the poor babies that die are usually under 3 so no school there usually just day care or babysitter. I dunno it just blows my mind I guess that so many people seem to forget their kiddo's in the summer and never during winter break or any other time.

Quoting jadedcynic:

I would think it is because school is out and the normal routine is shaken up. It really isn't an excuse. I live in Arizona and I was paranoid about checking the carseats.

Quoting Bird16_J:

what I want to know is why are more kids forgotten in the summer than any other time of the year? You NEVER hear about kids being forgotten in the middle of winter ya know? Just a silly question I suppose.

See this is how I see it for my own life and kids...I would be.afraid to leave my kids in the car bc someone might call the cops and the kids get taken away from me by dcfs. So yes i always remember my kids. Damn.

Same here. Seems like people just keep using the same excuse because it works every time.

How could he be sitting in a meeting for 7 hours & not have the cross his mind?

Also, I work at a daycare & when kids are not there an hour after they are scheduled to be, we call to see if they are coming.

If his baby's child care did that wouldn't that make someone realize the baby wasn't dropped off?

Quoting Mrs.Winchester:

I'm sorry I just don't buy it.

You drop your other two kids off but you forget to drop off the infant? How could you not remember making a whole stop? And then you go to work come back to your truck and you don't see the car seat sitting there with a dead baby in it? It wasn't until he got home that he noticed. I find this all hard to believe!

Lol, yeah it is. If it comes to that because they can't seem to remember they have a child... is extremely ridiculous.

Quoting nursetiffany.:

The fact that some people should actually do that! Lol. Not you. :)

Quoting Kchellejones330:

What is?

Quoting nursetiffany.:

Ridiculous.

Quoting Kchellejones330:

Wrap your wrist to a string and the carseat.. that won't let you get out until you unattatch the string.. then you'll know why the hell the string is wrapped around your arm... if you're that dumb and forgetful that you birthed children.

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